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Deacon Coletrane
Deacon Coletrane is the longest-serving member of Tango Squadron on record, and at the rank of Sergeant Major, current squad leader. A killer instinct brought him into the 5th, and it has kept him in the regiment ever since. Either by luck or by skill, he has survived battles that have seen hundreds, sometimes thousands die. In his regiment on Cadia, his squad was subjected to a similar procedure to the Gland Warriors of Dantis III. He was the only survivor. He earned the nickname "Phillips" and admission to the 5th Penal Legion after stabbing his superior officer (a Lieutenant), and an aide to death with a Phillips head screwdriver over a gambling argument. He has remained in the 5th ever since due to repeat offences, between one count of Manslaughter, several thefts from superior officers and assaulting other soldiers, leaving three in comas and causing four others severe enough injuries to force them out of active service for the rest of their lives. Biography Personnel Profile *'Full Name:' Deacon Joseph Coletrane *'Serial Number:' 2235-b114x *'Homeworld:' Cadia *'Crimes:' Murder (two proven counts), Manslaughter (at least four counts), Theft (at least seven counts), Aggravated Assault causing Greivious Bodily Harm (fifteen counts), Drunken Assault (at least four counts). There are far more crimes attributed to him, but there was little hard evidence for proof. It can only be assumed that he has evaded conviction for innumerable crimes on top of those listed here. His innumerable murders of other convicts are not listed as crimes. *'Height:' 6' 4" *'Weight:' ca. 275lbs *'Defining Features:' **Heavy, Muscular build. **Scarring on his neck and underarms from Stimm Gland Implant Surgery. **Mohawk haircut, Goatee and Moustache. **5th Penal Legion Tattoo on his Right Bicep and above his Right Ear. **Serial Number tattooed on his Left Shoulder and above his Left Ear. **Scars on his hands and forearms from knife fights. **Distinctive scar on left-hand side of his face from knife a severe fight. **Imperial Aquila tattooed on right pectoral muscle, Cadian regimental insignia tattooed on left pectoral muscle. **Litany of Hate tattooed on chest and upper abdomen. **Litany of Spite tattooed on upper back. **The word Hate tattooed across knuckles on right hand. Rage tattooed across knuckles on left hand. **''"Only the Emperor can judge me"'' tattooed above Litany of Spite on upper back, just below his neck. **Haarken Tribal Tattoos on forearms in honour of a former Haarken Beastman member of Tango Squadron. **Shrapnel, blade and bullet scars on face and body. **Distinctive scar under right arm, caused by enemy sniper fire. *'Threat Level Evaluation:' To be considered EXTREMELY dangerous to all other personnel. *'Prisoner Transport Recommendations:' If segregation from non-Penal Legionnaires is not possible, restraint is recommended if possible, as well as constant supervision. *'Flight Risk:' Coletrane has displayed little desire to escape the 5th Penal Legion. In fact, he seems to enjoy being a member of a band of rogues and convicts. Brief Summary of selected Crimes *'Murder 1 & 2:' Stabbed a Cadian Lieutenant with a screwdriver, severing his Carotid Artery and puncturing his Trachea. Stabbed Cadian Lieutenant's Aide with same screwdriver, severing his femoral artery. *'Manslaughters 1, 2 & 3:' Killed three Penal Legionnaires in self defence. One broken neck, one crushed skull (bludgeoned with a laspistol), and one crushed windpipe. *'Manslaughter 4:' Accidentally smothered a new convict during a hazing. *'Suspected Murder 1:' Suspected to have drowned a Penal Legionnaire in a latrine after an attack on a Tango. Victim attacked a member of Tango Squadron, and Coletrane has been known to behave violently when Tango Squadron is threatened. *'Suspected Murder 2:' Assumed to have suffocated a Penal Legionnaire with cellophane ration packaging in revenge for an unknown theft incident. No hard proof was found, and no witnesses have come forward. Early Life & Career before the 5th Coletrane was born a typical Cadian. Strong, hardy and healthy, he was a genetically pure human, and so avoided suffocation at birth. Unlike most Cadians, he was born with raven-coloured hair and grey eyes, testament to his Feral World-born mother's off-world heritage. Even larger and more heavily-built than typical Cadians, he shaved his hair into a mohawk early in life and has retained that hair type ever since. As with all Cadians, he was conscripted into the Cadian Military, and was considered for the Kasrkin from very early-on. However, after a near-brawl incident in the barracks after he finally snapped at several fellow Whiteshields for taunting him over his mixed blood, the Kasrkin looked elsewhere for recruits. He was moved to another barracks to prevent him from injuring his fellow conscripts, as he was significantly stronger than even his powerful build would suggest. Upon the eve of his first battle as a full Shock Trooper, Coletrane and another soldier spent some time drinking, and eventually staggered back to their barracks. Coletrane was found to be quite protective of the woman the next day, as the two found themselves fighting back to back against a hoard of mutated beasts and traitor guard as a small force hurled itself forward from the Eye of Terror. In spite of holding their position for so long that they expended all of their ammunition and were reduced to using lasguns looted from Traitor Guardsmen, piling bodies dozens deep around themselves, Coletrane and his comrade were severely chastised for their drinking and liaison the night before the battle and separated. This was to be the final infraction on Coletrane's record before the violent crime that led to his conviction to the Fifth Penal Legion. The woman later gave birth to a daughter, but by this time, Coletrane had been stationed in a Kasr, literally on the other side of the world to her. Stationed in a fortification almost at the south pole, Coletrane became intorverted and sombre, rarely socialising with his comrades, and rarely drinking with them when he did. It had been said of him that while he was a brilliant soldier, he always seemed on edge, just about to snap. And snap he did, eventually reverting into heavy drinking and gambling, and carousing with other soldiers. Coletrane was noted to have an extremely high tolerance for intoxicating substances, and even began to use the stim Spook. Rather than reprimand him for such behaviour, the commanders at the fortress suggested Coletrane to a new project to modify soldiers, to increase their survivability in the face of the horrible bio-weapons put to use by the forces of Chaos. One night, after a particularly heavy session of drinking and gambling, Coletrane and a dozen other extremely inebriated soldiers were accosted by a group of large, strong, and heavily equipped men with strange symbols on their breastplates and subdued. When the men woke up, they noticed scars at the base of their necks and below their shoulder blades, as well as the joints between their biceps and triceps. After their procedures, the Shock Troopers were fast-tracked to Kasrkin Training to put them to greatest use. Their training took months, as they breezed through physical trials. Maksmanship and combat training was not exceptionally accelerated, as the Stimm Glands did not expand mental capacity. The soldiers were scheduled for live-fire training a week after their training was completed, but fate intervened and a force of renegade Guardsmen slipped past Cadia's defences and made landfall not far from Coletrane's Kasr. The city's soldiers were immediately mobilized and the Hawks were briefed for their Baptism of Fire. Instructed to hold a strategically significant strech of trenches that led directly to the command trench and the Kasr's water supply piping, Coletrane and his unit were armed, primed and given a short run-through of how to make use of their glands. They held out, their glands pumping their system full of anti-toxins and combat drugs. They all shrugged off wounds that would have left any other soldier bleeding out in the dirt. Coletrane himself earned a prominent scar under his right arm when an enemy sniper shot through his chest. The unit's demolitions expert was still throwing grenades, even after a Traitor sniper shot his throwing arm, causing a complex fracture. Coletrane and his unit were forced to fix bayonets when a platoon of Traitor infantry marched up through No Man's Land towards them under a hail of vicious anti-infantry fire. Less than two dozen Traitors reached Coletrane's trench section, and were slaughtered by the ten Gland Warriors, gutted by bayonets, their throats cut by combat knives, their skulls caved in by gun stocks and bare hands. In a frenzied state by now, the Cadian Gland Warriors gave chase to the only survivor as he fled screaming from these men and women possessed. As they chased the man down and finally caught him, opening fire all at once, Coletrane's squad were welcomed by the thunderous roar of Heavy Bolter fire. With one fell sweep, a Traitor heavy weapons team slaughtered the Gland Warriors before reinforcements could arrive. Deacon was the first to be cut down, his left shoulder reduced to a ruined mess and his right calf shattered by glancing hits while his comrades charged up the small rise towards the guns. The last fell less than five feet from the Traitor Heavy Bolter. Miraculously, Deacon survived, his left arm amputated and replaced with a vat-grown organic arm. His right Tibia and Fibula had to be reconstructed with adamantium rods, but the soft tissue was left remarkably undamaged by the overpenetrating shot. He was relocated yet again after promotion to the rank of Sergeant Major, moved to the equatorial belt for a relatively uneventful five years of service. Crime & Conviction After five years serving in the Cadian Equatorial Belt, training Whiteshields and "green" Soldiers in Advanced Hand to Hand Combat and honing his own leadership skills, Deacon came upon a Lieutenant known as Dannen Markus. The two shared a love of drinking, gambling and shooting at anything that moved. The two quickly developed a friendship in the bars and at the firing range during down-time. While they rarely saw eye-to-eye, arguing quite frequently, neither would hear a bad word said about the other, saying "He might be a bastard, but he's '''my' bastard!". The two drank, and sometimes brawled with members of offworlder regiments stationed on Cadia, always aggravating them to throw the first punch and then claim self-defence when they cleared out the bar. During one particularly heavy night of drinking, Deacon and Dannen staggered to the back of the bar for a quick few games of Poker before collapsing and waking up in a stranger's doorway. After a Tallarn soldier told some presumably hilarious joke, an Ace dropped from Dannen's sleeve as he waved his arms. After Deacon accused him of cheating, Dannen threw the first punch. The two grappled for a good five minutes, slamming each other against tables and walls and generally demolishing sections of the bar without having much of an effect on each other. Dannen's aide joined the fight to separate them, but both soldiers threw him off, breaking his wrist. Deciding this had gone too far, the aide drew his Stubber and opened fire directly upwards to calm the erupting riot. Deacon, acting on instinct, grabbed a screwdriver from the bartender's mangled tool-kit and stabbed into the aide's pelvis, resulting in a quick spray of red arterial blood as the aide fell to the floor. Dannen grabbed Deacon to pull him away from the brawl, but Coletrane rounded on him on instinct and stabbed into his neck three times, fatally wounding him. Coletrane turned himself over to the Military Police after waking up on a park bench the next morning, drenched in the blood of one of his best friends. Rather than outright execution, the Military Police decided to have Deacon transferred to a Penal Legion, the infamous 5th Legion. It amounted to a death sentence, but at least Deacon would be of some use before dying. However, against all odds, Deacon excelled in the brutal environment he was thrust into, having grown up in an environment of hostility, the Eye casting it's baleful shadow over his head. Career with the 5th Penal Legion As an indicator of his future career in the 5th, Deacon's first act was to beat the biggest man he could find senseless to establish himself as no one to be reckoned with. Afterwards, he shaved his hair to his iconic Mohawk, and had tattoos applied to his head, eternally cementing a reputation with the Legion's Commissariat that Coletrane was not a man to cross lightly. Coletrane quickly singled himself out as one of the most skilled and deadly convicts in the Legion at the Battle for Fire Pass. The 5th were to support a Catachan infantry push through a Tau-controlled pass on the Death World Varikos, and provide a meat shield for the Jungle Fighters if the need arose. Coletrane quickly took the initiative when battle was joined and led his unit around the flanks of a Tau gun emplacement, killing the four Earth Caste Engineers and their Fire Warrior bodyguards himself while his men spiked the Tau guns with meltabombs and krak grenades. With the sabotage complete, Coletrane and his unit allowed the position to be retaken by a Kroot-led counter-attack, putting up stiff resistance so as not to give away their plot. Coletrane himself killed the Kroot's Shaper in an intense duel, eventually driving his bayonet up into it's throat and firing his lasgun into it's head, point-blank. A squadron of Fire Warriors arrived and attempted to open fire with the guns again before their Earth Caste Engineers arrived, resulting in the weapons detonating, killing the Fire Warriors, the Kroot Mercenaries and damaging the Earth Caste Devilfish so severely it had to crash land in the tree line. Coletrane and his unit dragged the Engineers back to Area Command, beaten and bound. Their reward was to lead the forlorn hope up through the top of the pass with a Catachan unit known as the Death Chasers, a similarly savage group of miscreants. At the height of the charge, Coletrane and the Death Chaser's Captain fought back to back, surrounded by Kroot Auxiliaries and Tau Pathfinders. The Captain fell while Coletrane's Stim Glands sustained him. In a drug-addled frenzy, Coletrane took up the Captain's powered machete and laid about himself, scattering severed limbs and organs across the muddy ground, now slick with blood. Matching battle cries, Coletrane and another Kroot Shaper met at the very apex of the pass, the only remaining soldiers on either side. Coletrane jumped at the Kroot, ignoring it's stock blades as they punctured his thigh and ramming the power blade downwards through it's head. After the battle, Coletrane was moved to Tango Squadron, the 5th Legion's Special Operations unit, the unit he has remained with to this day. Coletrane did not become Tango Squadron's leader as soon as he was placed in the unit. As he had been stripped of his rank at his sentencing, he was a Lance Corporal by the time he had made it to Tango Squadron. He began his career as a Tango under the heavy hand of Sergeant Paul Hansen. The two kicked off something of a friendship, both being brutal veterans of many other conflicts. However, Hansen's heavy-handed discipline began to annoy Coletrane, and unlike his successor, Hansen was not heavy-handed enough to make his XO reconsider killing him. The first opportunity he got, Coletrane jumped Hansen, took him to the ground in a chokehold and snapped his neck. Almost five years (and at least as many COs) later, Coletrane finally regained his rank of Sergeant Major and took command of Tango Squadron, under approval of several Commissars who wanted to see Coletrane running suicide missions. He initiated a reign of terror on his unit, putting them under the boot harder than any Commissar had before or has tried to do since. The hell he put his convicts through pushed them into an elite status, analogous Storm Troopers among the ranks of the Legion. They overtook the 5th Legion's other Special Operations units, Delta Squadron and Omega Squadron in terms of demand and sheer number of missions undertaken, eventually phasing Delta and Omega out of Special Operations and back into regular service as Coletrane ran his men and women into the ground. Early in Coletrane's reign, more Tangos died from exhaustion than contact with the enemy. Personality & Traits Personality Deacon is a bitter, angry man. He is openly derisive of armoured battalions and officers, and endeavours to make life as difficult for them as possible without actively hampering their ability to help win the war. This generally means stealing from them as often as possible. Many tank crews have had to spend mornings clearing ice off their tanks with flamers and shovels as Deacon stole their antifreeze to make moonshine, and many an officer has woken up to find his breakfast rations stolen. Deacon has even stolen from Commissars, and has amassed quite an expansive collection of Commissarial trenchcoats and hats (which he often uses as disguises to get past guards in officer's quarters. His most dramatic theft from an officer was when he broke into the dugout of an Armoured Regiment's Colonel, shaved the colonel's prized moustache and glued it to the an Aide's face after he spiked their drinks with moonshine made from their own tank's antifreeze. In spite of his bitterness, Coletrane is quite reverent of several Imperial Heroes throughout history. In particular, he applies great honour and sometimes prays to the Primarchs of the Space Marines, especially Sanguinius and Leman Russ, Sanguinius for facing Horus alone, and Russ for having commanded Penal Legions. As for worship of the Emperor, Coletrane is not particularly pious, but in particularly trying times, has been known to pray to the Emperor as he was in the Crusade, a powerful warrior and leader, rather than the ascended God he is now. This strange belief system and pantheon is unlike many other Imperial Guard belief systems, and has baffled many who have asked about it. Deacon's remorselessness is another major influence on his personality and thought process. Some would comment that he goes beyond not caring what he does, to being physically unable to care. Coletrane's killer instinct kicked into overdrive upon being sentenced to life in the 5th and he never thought twice about any of his victims as he left them spitting up blood and gasping their last at his feet. This has, without a doubt, contributed to his survival in the brutal ranks of the Legion, and no doubt contributed to his reputation. His apparently-mindless habit for killing other convicts, members of regular regiments, and enemy forces has put him in a position of such fear that soldiers who would laugh in the faces of Commissars are intimidated by the slightest mention of Coletrane. Physical Traits Deacon has been described as ''"made from spare Super-Heavy Tank Parts". He is a large man, powerfully built, with bull-like shoulders and forearms the size of a Grox's thigh. His chest is deep, barrel-shaped and heavily muscled. He has broad, calloused hands, covered in scars and cuts from years of practice and genuine combat with knives, swords and bayonets. Even without releasing stimms into his system, he is capable of shocking feats of strength, including palming a medicine ball in each hand. However, many of these feats are also the reasons he is a long-term member of the 5th Penal Legion. This includes breaking a man's back over his knee, snapping another man's neck so severely it resulted in total internal decapitation and leaving another completely braindead with a single stamp to the head (the second stamp caused death by massive brain haemmorage). His brutal strength is augmented by his Implant Glands, and when he floods his system with the cocktail of combat drugs secreted by these glands, he has been known to defeat at least six attackers, all of whom suffered severe injuries, including paralysis from strikes to the head and spine, permanent nerve damage from shattered joints and detatched retinae from heavy-handed punches to their faces (the detatched retinae were accompannied by broken noses, punctured sinuses and crushed eye sockets). Such attackers have ranged from fellow Penal Legionnaires to Traitor Guard. When he truly pushes his glands to the limits, to the point of overdosing even with the Glands' compensating methods, he has ripped the tusks from Ork's mouths and overpowered a rogue Inquisitor in Power Armour (for which he would have earned pardon had he not headbutted the Loyalist Inquisitor who had requisitioned his services shortly afterwards). Lifespan Coletrane is several centuries old, but has the appearance of a man in his late thirties due to the time dilating effect of all the Warp Travel he has undergone during his stay with the 5th. In addition, his implants and surgeries have also extended his lifespan, to an unknown extent, but his records indicate he was born sometime in 710 M.41, making him over 250 years old by the time of the 5th Penal Legion's involvement in the Wars on the Eastern Fringes. Relations with other Tangos *'Virgil Vasquez' :Coletrane and Virgil are something of an odd pair. Both veterans, and the two longest-serving Tangos still alive. They're at each other's throats nine-times-out-of-ten. At times, they look like they're about to kill each other. But Emperor help anyone who tries to join in. They both have a twisted respect for each other, forged from uncountable incidents of standing back-to-back with the bodies piled waist-deep around them. Virgil is among the only people who can back-talk Deacon and not wind up reliant on a machine to breathe. When they're not robbing each other blind and coming to a trade agreement about who has to add in something extra to get their stuff back, they'll probably be giving another Tango a hard time, tag-team style. *'Jared Richter' :Deacon is both derisive and abusive of Jared. Helmet-Head will always get the worst earful of any Tango if it all goes south, and will always get the heaviest items thrown at him when Deacon goes psycho on his Stimm Glands. He almost definitely wouldn't get it as bad if it didn't upset him so much. However, above all, Deacon sees Jared as a Tango. That makes him a member of the big dysfunctional family. While Deacon often gives Jared a rough time, Deacon would, and has, maimed and killed other convicts and members of regular Regiments in Jared's defence (though he'd never admit it). Deacon has something of a twisted older brother feeling towards Jared. Give him hell so the real world seems like paradise by comparison, and destroy anything that would try to harm him. *'Liana LeGuie' :To describe Deacon as hating Liana would be a ridiculous understatement. Firstly, by her association with the Klienan Armoured Divisions, and then by her openly derisive attitude towards the infantry. Manifestations of this hatred go from leaving her short in ammunition deliveries and the occassional stripping her of her rank and allowing Jared to give her orders to once going as far as threatening to rip hear head off while he dangled her over a ravine by the hair. She gets the verbal goings-over even worse than Jared when Coletrane and Vasquez gang up, as they both seem to get a bit of a lift from verbally stamping on her metaphorical head. Again, this abuse is the sole domain of Tango Squadron, specifically Deacon himself and Virgil. Deacon has literally ripped or cut the mouths off outsiders who have tried to join in. *'Cale Barakus' :Cadians stick together, thick as thieves. When they both happen to be thieves in an elite parcel of rogues, they stick like the proverbial to a bed sheet. Barakus and Coletrane both share the Cadian martial discipline, and a Penal Trooper's love for violence. Deacon, in a way, sees a younger version of himself in Barakus, but shows it by treating him just as badly as, if not worse than the other Tangos. Coletrane didn't ask for special treatment, why should his Mini-me get special treatment? Coletrane also holds the fact that he expects more from a Cadian over Barakus' head. Where others would struggle to walk, Coletrane expects Barakus to be able to run. *'Fredric Aslk' :Deacon has something of an awkward friendship with Tango's wizkid. Both have developed a love for the violence inherent in Penal Regiment life, and Coletrane developed a twisted respect for Aslk after watching the Techpriest chug a gallon of Motor Oil, a feat Coletrane himself could barely manage. During Aslk's hazing period (Tango has a period of hazings, rather than a single incident), Coletrane offered a bottle of Valhallan Brandy to whoever could stick a magnet to Aslk's head. This feat was completed by none other than Virgil Vasquez, possibly beginning the long-term rivalry between the two. *'Raynor P'tar' :The newest Tango, P'tar is also the only member not linked in some way to the Imperial War Machine. At first, this left Coletrane a little unsure what to make of him. Upon hearing he was a professional thief, Coletrane's opinion brightened a little. He then put P'tar's skills as a traceur to use as a scout and spotter. *'Rugar Lazarus' :In spite of actually being a newer addition to Tango than P'tar, Deek prefers calling P'tar the new kid, so Lazarus is known as Medic or Meds. Coletrane was quite impressed with Lazarus' rampage, in spite of the primary weapon being a shoe, and he now uses it as an example of how Cadians are just plain old better than other soldiers. As with Barakus, Lazarus goes through hell because he's a Cadian. Because according to Coletrane, no matter how much time a Cadian spends healing, there is always time for a Cadian to be killing. *'Cole Dunbar' :Cole and Deacon have their differences. Cole seems fairly paranoid about Deacon becoming an officer, and Deacon keeps an eye out in case Cole goes head-down and over the edge. Cole also refuses to cook for Deek, although some would argue that that's a good thing. While Vasquez often torments Cole by actually touching Cole's rifle, Deek took the more meacing approach and has decided to tell Cole that if he wanted to, he could kill him and just take the rifle. So far, Cole has failed to see the twisted humour in the constant suggestions that Cole should never let himself be alone. *'Oscar' :Squad mascot and generally spoiled and lazy hound, Oscar was accidentally stolen from a Mordian Regiment when Tango were just grabbing as many crates as they could. One of them had straw poking out the sides, and Coletrane grabbed it, assuming it was some kind of fancy Mordian brandy or something. He was less than impressed to crack open the crate and find a dog sleeping inside. Nonetheless, Oscar began to grow on Coletrane, and is possibly the only member of Tango Squadron that Coletrane will share rations with (in spite of giving other Tangos abuse for feeding the pup from their own bowls), and is the only one he won't punch when angry. Coletrane was less than happy to find that Oscar's preferred sleeping basket was his helmet. Awards & Medals Before being stripped of all honours upon admission to the 5th Penal Legion, Coletrane bore several awards and medals. All were struck from his record until such time as he earns his freedom, or dies in service of the Imperium. *'Administratum Medal' *'Eagle Ordinary' *'Triple Skull' *'Steel Aquila' (this would indicate that Coletrane was a member of the Cadian 91st at some point in his career) *'Winged Skull' *'Crimson Skull' (it is unknown how or where Coletrane learned Combat First Aid) Skills, Abilities & Equipment Skills *'Cadian Shock Troop and Kasrkin Combat Training (CQC, Martial Arts, Marksmanship, Explosives etc.)' :Deacon, as could be expected, received years of Cadian Combat Training to prepare him for a lifetime of war on Cadia's soil. This was expanded with his Gland Warrior's Kasrkin training. He is without a doubt, the most skilled fighter on Tango Squadron's current roster. He was the Gland Warriors' designated Marksman, and is also trained and qualified in Heavy Weapon's Operation. Deacon is also known to be a skilled explosives operator, and surprisingly, a competent EOD operator, and can dismantle several kinds of explosives after years of using grenade primers in practical jokes. *'Lockpicking' :After years in a criminal society like the 5th Penal Legion, Deacon has picked up several skills, one of them being lockpicking and lock breaking. It is a skill Deacon honed over several years of practice breaking into officers' quarters to rob them blind. *'Pickpocketting' :Much like his lockpicking skills, Deacon learned to be a master pickpocket in the ranks of the 5th. He began practicing his sleight of hand skills as much to learn how other thieves in the Legion operated as a counter-measure to them as a means of stealing from other convicts and officers. *'Expert Knife Fighting' :Coletrane is a master knife fighter, able to wield any form of small blade with deadly efficiency. An offshoot of his Cadian Drill Training, Coletrane expanded his knife fighting skills over his long life as knives (with the exception of his Catachan Fang) are far easier to conceal than other melee weapons. Armed with a knife, Coletrane is an almost unstoppable force, deadlier than two men with swords. Coletrane became infamous among the convicts after killing nine men in quick succession in an escalating fight, using only his Catachan Fang. *'Expert Martial Arts' **'Earned Distinction levels in Advanced Hand to Hand Combat training' :Coletrane is an exceptional brawler, highly skilled in unarmed combat and capable of fending off, if not killing, several opponents when armed with nothing but his bludgeon-like fists. Among the unlicensed boxing matches that the 5th's camps are rife with, Coletrane is known as an extremely dangerous Heavyweight fighter with surprisingly quick footwork and possessing knockout power that exceeds all expectations, even for a man of his size. Equipment Loadout *'Cadian Regimental Issue M36 Kantrael Pattern Lasgun with Bayonet, Rangefinder and Motion Predictor scope (scope looted from fallen marksman)' :Standard Regimental semi-automatic lasgun, standard bayonet. Scopes looted from the body of a marksman killed either by enemy infiltrators or Coletrane himself. No direct evidence indicates Coletrane, but the las burns the marksman suffered indicate extremely close range, and that the marksman had his back turned completely towards his killer. *'Cadian-Issue Combat Knife' :This knife has been in Deacon's possession since he became a fully-fledged Shock Trooper. A seven-inch clip-point blade, with the false edge of the Clip Point sharpened, and serrations at the base of the blade. The tang passes the whole way through the single-piece moulded plascore grip, wrapping around the base. It has been Deacon's constant companion for his entire military career. He even sleeps with it under his pillow. *'Catachan Fang Fighting Knife (looted from fallen squadmate)' :A Catachan deserter once weilded this 20" monstrosity. He challenged Coletrane to a fight in a dugout. The knife was embedded in the ground and the two fought to first blood. First blood was drawn when Coletrane ripped the Catachan's throat out with his teeth. *'Thracian Pattern Laspistol (looted from fallen squadmate)' :A former Thracian officer placed under Coletrane's command weilded this powerful laspistol, which Coletrane took and used to perform a mercy blow while the Thracian lay impaled by an Ork's Choppa. *'Carapace Armour Vest (looted from fallen officer)' :Coletrane pulled this Carapace Plating, complete with shoulder and abdomen protection, from the still-warm body of a Commissar who was killed when he exposed himself to enemy snipers while making a derisive speech to Tango Squadron. *'Steel-backed Combat Gloves (looted from fallen combat engineer)' :Coletrane came into possession of the steel-backed knuckle gloves when Tango Squadron's combat engineer accidentally detonated one of his own Melta Bombs in a Spook-addled haze. The engineer's hands, feet and helmet were all that remained. *'Cadian Standard Issue Helmet, Flak Pants, T-shirt, Flak Jacket and Combat Boots' :Coletrane retained his heavy-duty Cadian gear when placed in the 5th Penal Legion. Coletrane later gave up his helmet as a sleeping basket for Oscar the Dog. *'Non-Standard-Issue Punch Daggers' :Coletrane carries at least three punch knives at all times. Through use of his sleight of hand skills, it would seem that they appear from nowhere when Deacon draws them. This grants an incredible advantage if a brawl seems to be getting out of hand, enabling him to quickly and easily maim his opponent. *'Power Blade' :Not so much a sword as a machete, this weapon was taken from a slain Catachan Captain after the Battle of Fire pass, one of Coletrane's first engagements with the 5th. While he prefers his Catachan Fang, Deacon often uses this blade to devastating effect in brutal close-range combat, moving with surprising finesse for one who appears to be a barbarian. *'Hexagrammic Wards' :Deacon once got extremely drunk and decided to have a symbol he saw on an Inquisitorial Storm Trooper's armour tattoed on his shoulder blade, as a mockery of those stuck-up scumbags. As it turned out, the symbol was a Hexagrammic Ward. Deacon only found that out after an Ork Wyrdboy blew himself up trying to unleash a psychic attack on him. *'Stubber' :Coletrane keeps his trusty .454 Stubber handy at all times. Unknown exactly where he found it, even to Coletrane. He just woke up one morning, hung over badly with blood on his boots and the Stubber tucked into his belt. While crude and loud (much like it's owner), it bypasses most Guard scanners, which pick up on the charge in Las Weapon energy cells. Because of this (among other reasons), Coletrane keeps this heavy pistol holstered in the small of his back, even when he sleeps, and is so practiced in drawing it that he instinctively pulls the gun every time he is woken unexpectedly. *'Assorted Combat Knives' :Coletrane carries numerous knives of varying lengths all over his body, inside his jacket, in his pockets, in sheathes on his calves and thighs, hidden up sleeves when he wears long-sleeved BDUs, in boot sheathes, inside his vest, on his carapace vest, and on a large knife belt he keeps secreted under his carapace vest. To say he is a walking arsenal would be putting it mildly. Implant Surgery *Slaught, Psychon, Spur and De-Tox Gland Implants In order to make their soldiers more resistant to airborne toxins and virii deployed by the Forces of Chaos during the various Black Crusades, the Cadian Military attempted several techniques. Some were more successful than others, while some were outright failures. These varied from Blessed Rebreathers and Innoculations to more outlandish methods. Deacon suffered one of the latter. Gland Implants. His officers decided on him as an ideal candidate during his early career as a distinguished soldier, however, Deacon was less enthusiastic about being turned into a walking drugs laboratory. Using surgeries learned from the files on the Gland Warriors of Dantis III, several Magos' finished the surgery on Deacon and several other Cadian Soldiers, implanting De-Tox, Psychon, Onslaught and Spur producing Glands in all of them, with the intention of boosting the soldiers' immune systems and combat potential to such a level that they would be able to fight almost unprotected and still crush opposition. Deacon is the only known survivor of the first battle these Gland Warriors fought in, the others having gone into a battle frenzy and rushed an enemy Heavy Bolter position. Over his extremely long career, Deacon has suffered several greivous injuries which have led to massive reconstructive surgery, including having his left arm was replaced after his shoulder was destroyed by Heavy Bolter fire on Cadia. His left eye had to be repaired after his eye socket got crushed in a brawl with several Catachan deserters (one of whom he left quardiplegic, earning himself another sentence in the 5th). Neither of his arms are his originals. In addition to his left arm, his lower right arm was replaced with a vat-grown organic replacement after an Ork Warboss tore it off at the elbow(his tattoos were re-applied). His right Tibia and Fibula both contain adamantium rods inserted to allow him to continue service due to another injury in the same incident that cost him his left arm. Quotes By Coletrane About Coletrane Gallery Coming soon! Hand-drawn pics will be making an appearance once I get them finished and scanned to my PC. Category:Imperial Characters Category:Imperial Guard Characters Category:Characters